Throughout practically all of history, we humans have walked barefoot and slept on the ground, largely oblivious to the fact that the gentle surface energies of the Earth harmonize and stabilize the body's fundamental biological rhythms and keep inflammation at bay.

In our contemporary Western world, the widespread use of insulative rubber or plastic soled shoes has disconnected us from these nurturing energies and, of course, we no longer sleep on the ground as we did in times past.

New research, which I am proud to be involved in, indicates that this physical disconnect from the Earth creates abnormalities in the physiology and contributes to the chronic inflammation, pain, fatigue, stress, and poor sleep that are so rampant in our modern society.

Along with the research has emerged an amazingly simple remedy for many health problems, including the chronic inflammation regarded as the cause of most common modern diseases, including cardiovascular disease. The remedy is something right beneath our feet - the Earth itself!

The Greatest Health Discovery in My Career During my nearly forty years as a practicing cardiologist, I have encountered and used many wonderful natural treatments and seen first-hand astounding lifesaving technological advances. The greatest health discovery of my career, however, is something totally different and more natural than anything I could ever have imagined.

This discovery is called Earthing and it means reconnecting the human body to the Earth's natural and subtle electric frequencies that few people even know exist. The surface of the planet, science tells us, brims with health-sustaining energy, but until recently the extraordinary benefits that it offers were basically unknown.

Connecting the human body to this natural resource is utterly simple - just go barefoot outdoors. If you have ever walked along the beach near the surf, or on a grassy field wet with morning dew, you may have felt the energy in the form of gentle tingling or warmth in your feet and legs. You can also connect to this energy by sleeping, working, sitting, or resting on specially designed and inexpensive conductive sheets, bands, or mats that transfer the energy via a wire into your home and office.

These unique devices often relieve common health and pain problems. Recovery from surgery, injury, and extreme athletic performance is accelerated. People report sleeping better with more energy during the day. They feel better. For more than ten years, thousands of people around the world - men, women, children, and athletes - have incorporated Earthing into their daily routines. The results have been documented and they are extraordinary.

This surprising yet totally intuitive subject is the focus of a new book that I have had the privilege to co-author. It is called Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? (Basic Health Publications, 2010). In the book, my co-authors and I present research and observations collected during more than 12 years that strongly suggest that the biggest anti-inflammatory on the planet is - get this! - the very planet itself. Basically, we live on top of a global treatment table!

A Missing Link to Health?The research also suggests that direct physical contact with the Earth reconnects you to the natural electric signal from the Earth governing all living organisms dwelling upon it. The signal restores your body's natural internal bioelectrical stability and rhythms, which in turn promote normal functioning of body systems, including the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and immune systems.

It shifts the nervous system from stress-dominated functioning to one of calmness. By reconnecting, you enable your body to return to its normal evolutionary electrical state, better able to self-regulate and self-heal.

The Earth's surface energy takes the form of a virtually unlimited reservoir of free electrons, subatomic particles. When "uploaded" into your body as a result of direct physical contact with the ground, these electrons appear to quell the rampage of destructive free radicals at the basis of chronic pain and inflammation.

Our hypothesis is that this effect takes place as negatively-charged electrons - like reinforcements swarming into battle - suffuse the body, basically overwhelming and neutralizing positively-charged free radicals. Earthing, we say, remedies a commonplace electron deficiency and thus reduces or eliminates inflammation.

I see Earthing as a profoundly simple, practical, effective, and cost-cutting way to combat common illnesses and pain problems, and, from a preventive standpoint, keep people healthy. To me it represents a missing link in the health equation.

In my own field of cardiology, Earthing has great promise for improving arrhythmias, blood pressure, circulation, and the vital pumping activity of the heart. I recently participated in a pilot study on the electrodynamics of blood cells that indicates Earthing significantly improves viscosity (blood thickness) and flow. Another study I was involved in showed how Earthing contributes to a de-stressing and balancing effect on the nervous system.

It's fascinating to think of the Earth as a medically-significant and natural blood thinner, tranquilizer, and anti-inflammatory. I fully expect many more benefits to emerge with ongoing research.

Stephen Sinatra, MD, FACC, FACN, CNS, is a board-certified cardiologist and certified bioenergetic analyst with more than 35 years of experience in helping patients prevent and reverse heart disease. His specialty is integrative cardiology that combines conventional medical treatments with complementary nutritional and psychological therapies.

Now retired, Dr. Sinatra lectures widely on the metabolic approach to cardiovascular disease and electromedicine. His latest book is Earthing:The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? In it, he introduces the fascinating discovery of major health benefits resulting from direct physical contact with the Earth's natural, subtle electric energies.

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